CHESHIRE'S acting chief constable has slammed the methods used to assess policing.

His force scored poorly in comparison with others in the Police Performance Assessments, issued by the Home Office.

In a league table the force came 36th, with only seven constabularies below it and 35 above.

However, Graeme Gerrard thinks the assessment is un-helpful and gives an overly simplistic view of policing in the county.

He said: 'It is a blunt instrument and a very unsophisticated method of trying to gauge the effectiveness of policing.

'The assessment also fails to recognise value for money - the Council Tax-payers of Cheshire pay less per head of population for policing than residents in similar areas. We have the second lowest shire county police precept.'

The report for April 2005 to March 2006 measures seven performance areas.

The 'Delivery' column is an assessment of performance data over the past year. A 'fair' assessment suggests the force is performing at a similar level as comparable forces.

The 'Direction' column compares the data with that of last year.

Crime has not reduced, according to the table, but Mr Gerrard says the introduction of the Centralised Crime Recording Bureau accounts for this: 'It is easier to report crime now. Recorded crime has risen but not actual crime. Latest figures show it is now decreasing.'

'Citizen Focus', based on surveys, scored poorly but Cheshire relies on written documents, which Mr Gerrard says get a lower and less varied response than telephone polls, which most other constabularies use.

The report does note the introduction of the Taking Control programme, which concentrates on beat policing and community involvement.

Mr Gerrard added: 'The assessment does not look at what the public care about; for instance, how quickly we answer the phone or how quickly we can get to someone's house.

'We could concentrate on the performance figures to keep the Government happy but this would not improve policing. There is more work to be done but the officers and staff who are policing Cheshire are achieving a great deal.'